Risk Taking

The dictionairy difines risk as "exposing oneself to the chance of loss." You may avoid suffering and sorrow if you take no risk, but you cannot learn, love, change, and grow. What causes individuals to shy away from taking a risk, even if it is a low risk and will give them something they really want? High on most people's list would be fear of loss, failure and percieved humiliation. But why would we automatically think that we would fail at something.

I believe this dates back to our childhood. A small child is a natural born risk taker. The child never considers the consequences of falling when learning to walk. Falling is a natural part of mastering the skill. Why then, would we not continue to view any type of risk with the same consideration? What happens to us?

When you were taking your first steps, it was probably quite common to hear your parents say, "Be careful, you might fall." I think that for some, this begins the pattern of playing it safe. Think of how much better equipped we would be to face life's challenges, if we'd repeatedly heard, "Don't worry about falling, because that's how you learn." Many of the greatest lessons you'll recieve in life are going to come from your failures.

Failing will never make you a failure unless you quit. unfortunately, very few people heard that when they were young. The vast majority of our population have been mentally programmed to play it safe.

Why is it that we do not see the process of reaching our goals as having steps similar to the ones a child must take in order to learn to walk? We will stumble and fall in the learning process, but success can only be reached when we are prepared to take those steps, all of them, even the ones where we fail. The real win is the confidence and experience we aquire which translates into new opportunities for growth, enjoyment and expansion in all areas of our life.
There is a four letter word that most parents use around their children so frequently, that the children pick it up before too long it is buried in the treasury of their sub-conscious mind. That four letter word is CAN'T, Can't is a word that paralyzes any constructive progress. The only alternative to that four letter word is its polar opposite-I CAN, You don't necessarily have to be very smart to win, but you must be willing.

Reaching the goal is not success; success is moving toward the goal. Taking risk is essential when you want to reach a goal and the purpose of goals is growth. When you challenge yourself, you bring more of yourself to the surface. If you dream of living your life in a big way, you must accept risk-taking as a very real part of that apprenticeship.

I clearly remember the firs time I heard Earl Nightingale. Earl told a story about a farmer who was out walking in a field. He looked down and saw a tiny pumpkin growing on a vine. Nearby, he spotted a small glass jar. The farmer reached down and placed the tiny pumpkin inside the small jar. The pumpkin continued to grow until it filled the inside of the jar beyond which it could not grow.

There are a number of people like that tiny pumpkin. They limit themselves and refuse to take a risk. They never truly test the strength of their abilities. Too many go through their entire lives playing it safe. They never step out and bet on the surest thing in the world themselves.

If you hope to accumulate great wealth or achieve high goals, then the first few steps of that journey will involve a high degree of risk. You must turn your back on safety and security. To make it big, you must take big risk.

Elenor Roosevelt said. " You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." Follow her advice and liberate yourself from the crippling emotional state of fear and enter into a world of freedom.

Bob Proctor Life Success Productions
http://www.insightoftheday.com/cmd.asp?Clk=3300498

Be blessed
Patricia